Heretofore, with regard to the treatment of malignant growths such as various types of cancer and the like, the general approach of the medical and pharmaceutical professions has been keyed to the discovery of the causitive agents. The general approach by the pharmaceutical and medical industry has been to determine the nature of such agents, study the mechanism involved, and then create a pharmaceutical material that will intervene that mechanism.
It has now been discovered that the thymus gland of mammals processes exogenous tin into several biochemical compounds of a steroidal nature. Such tin steroids function as a critical component of the immune system, being involved in surveillance, detection and destruction of cells inimical to the well being of the host. Synthetic tin steroids, a hitherto unknown class of compounds have been prepared and found to be biologically highly active against mammalian tumors and tumor cells, pathogenic bacteria, and fungi. Furthermore, it has been discovered that select tin steroids interfere in the life processes of insects of public health and agricultural importance, and will destroy said insects directly through toxic activity, or indirectly by preventing metamorphosis, and in some instances acting as antifeedants.